UCL School of Life and Medical Sciences

Ketamine
is the fastest growing drug of abuse in the UK. Research, conducted
primarily at UCL, has now shown that ketamine can be highly addictive
and lead to severe physical and psychological problems.

At present, virtually no information about these problems
is available to users. More alarmingly, there is presently no NHS
service provision for ketamine users. Individuals who may be at high
risk of psychological or physical problems are frequently being turned
away from primary care and addiction services as they are told that
ketamine is a ‘recreational’ drug.

There was a lack of engagement between
researchers, healthcare professionals, users and policy makers. ‘K-day’
aimed to address this problem by bringing these groups together.

The event was centred around activities, stalls and workshops run in a ‘village fete’
format. It was informal in set up with background music and a
relaxation area where people could chat on sofas and with a film showing in a corner.
Stalls - manned by professionals, users
and scientists- gave users practical tips on dealing with their ketamine use,
and discussed with them current scientific and medical findings as well as
asking their opinion on various research projects, what the problems associated
with ketamine are and where we should be going next with ketamine research and
treatment.

The stalls were “Ketamine and
your Brain”, “Ketamine Cystitis”, “Pain and K-Cramps”, “Release, Drug Use and
Law (Free Legal Advice)”, “Nutrition”, “Detox”, “Psychology and Psychiatry in Drug
Services”, “Respect Drug Users Group” “Acupuncture”, which was administered by
a group of qualified ex-drug users, “Bristol Drugs Project” and “Take Part in
Further Research”.

There was also a “Kreativity Korner”, using art and music
therapy to get users to creatively describe their ketamine experiences. In a
separate room a representative from Breathing Space, mindfulness therapy ran
mindfulness based relapse prevention sessions. Two additional rooms ran focus
groups with users and professionals discussing various issues around ketamine
use throughout the day. Each attendee was given a bag at the beginning
containing various informational leaflets we prepared for the day and further
contact details as well as details of current research projects.

Outcomes

As a result of the day, increasing numbers of collaborations, events,
movements and treatment initiatives are occuring. These include an experimental
ketamine detox service being trialled in Devon, using the professional and user
reports from the day as well as the collaboration facilitated between the
professionals we gathered together. A UK ketamine-urology research group has
been set up at UCLH. The UCLH pain consultants who attended on the day knew nothing
of ketamine use, but subsequently are preparing to conduct some work examining
k-cramps, a severe gastrointestinal pain associated with ketamine abuse /
withdrawal.

One of the key aims was a ketamine harm reduction briefing, prepared by Matt
Southwell and the Gold Standard Team with input from UCL researchers,
to be circulated on the day. The network of professionals assembled on
the day was crucial to the success of this document. It will now be
disseminated through the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of
Psychiatrists, the Royal College of Nursing and the British Psychological
Society.

The data collected from the
focus groups is being prepared into a paper that concerns issues around ketamine
use from a multi-disciplinary perspective for dissemination in primary care and
addiction services.